RALEIGH, NC—Saying the law provides women with an opportunity to carefully consider all their options, North Carolina officials today praised the state’s abortion waiting period for allowing women to explore alternatives to making their own decisions. “We want to make sure any woman seeking an abortion has ample opportunity to reconsider determining for herself what is best for her body,” said state spokesman Jeremy Neumark, adding that the mandatory 72-hour waiting period gives women the time needed to weigh alternatives to the difficult choice that they had already made and now simply wished to carry out. “When a woman comes to her doctor for an abortion, we know she’s arrived at that choice as the result of a lengthy and often painful decision-making process, and we’d like to respect that by giving her some additional time to second-guess herself.” Neumark went on to say that any woman who has decided to not have an abortion is encouraged to trust her own judgment on such an important and personal matter.